


This is Where You Need to Be

by arey0unasty



Category: Blink-182
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Eventual Happy Ending, M/M, Mentions of Sex, Pining Matt, Temporarily Unrequited Love, a lil bit of hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-18 09:06:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15482409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arey0unasty/pseuds/arey0unasty
Summary: Matt only saw the world in black and white until the day he met Mark Hoppus





	This is Where You Need to Be

**Author's Note:**

> Background: in this au, everyone sees in black and white until they meet their soulmate. As soon as their soulmate speaks to them for the first time, they start to see colors. 
> 
> Title: Elevated - State Champs
> 
> Insert usual disclaimer that this is all fake and I mean no disrespect to the people mentioned

When Matt was young, he often wondered what his soulmate was like. Would she be short? Would she have the same taste in music? Or would he be awkward and muscular with a goofy smile? He didn’t care about their gender, really. He was just eager to meet them. Whenever he dated, he never gave much of a shit about appearances. As long as they were nice and made him laugh, he was content. Matt knew all of those relationships didn’t matter anyway, none of them were his soulmate. He did learn a lot about the qualities he wanted in a partner though, so it wasn’t a total waste of time.

His parents sat him down when he hit his teens and explained the whole soulmate thing. When you meet them and they speak to you, your world explodes into thousands of colors. Of course he had already learned about it in school, but he let them reminisce about how they found each other. 

He could only hope to have a romance like theirs one day.

Meeting his soulmate was something he always looked forward to, but never dwelled on for too long. It was a curiosity always on his mind, but he never got upset if he met someone and it wasn’t his soulmate. Matt just reminded himself that it was young and it’d happen eventually.

After he started Alkaline Trio and they started touring, he was far too busy to be worried about meeting them.

And after starting one particular tour, being worried wasn’t an option anymore. Trio was supporting Blink 182, and he was excited to meet those guys. Matt knew they were a funny bunch, and he couldn’t help but think that their bass player was cute.

The night before the tour started, the bands were having a barbeque to kick it off. It was basically an excuse to get shitfaced more than anything. They were rockstars, after all. 

Not too long after the party started, Matt ran into Travis and started talking about different punk bands they grew up listening to. Mark walked by and Travis stopped talking.

“Oh, hey, you gotta meet Mark. I think you two would be great friends.” And then he ran off to go get the bassist. Matt just nodded and took a sip of his beer. He briefly wondered if Travis was trying to be his wingman, even though they just met and Travis had no way of knowing that Matt was interested in Mark. He could always hope.

A few minutes passed and Travis finally made his way back, Mark trailing behind him with a drink in hand.

Mark was far more handsome in person.

“Matt, this is Mark, our bassist. Mark, that’s obviously Matt. I’m gonna go talk to that lady in the red shirt now, you guys have fun.” With that, Travis sauntered off in the direction of some girl. Matt couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Well, someone’s getting laid tonight.” Mark said. “But hi, I’m Mark. I’m a huge fan of your band.” He held out his hand for Matt to shake.

Suddenly, Matt’s world blossomed. He could make out the different colors of the trees around them, the orange glow of the bonfire that someone had built.

Matt looked into Mark’s eyes and decided that blue was his new favorite color.

Matt shakily reached his hand out to grip Mark’s hand. He felt as if he couldn’t breathe, the different colors threatened to overwhelm him. The realization that his soulmate was in front of him was a lot to handle, and he decided the best way to deal with it was to get drunk. 

“Ha, likewise. I’m Matt.” Matt wanted to pat himself on the back for not stuttering his way through that sentence. 

He waited for Mark to gasp, to stumble back, any indication that he had started to see the world in color. Mark started a conversation, and it quickly became clear to Matt that he was alone in his revelation. Matt tried to hide his disappointment as they talked, but it was hard. The longer the conversation went on, Matt felt his attraction towards Mark increasing. 

Mark finally broke away to go talk to someone from his band. Matt watched him walk over to their guitarist, standing on his tiptoes to kiss his cheek. A second realization hit him- He wasn’t Mark’s soulmate.

That’s when Matt sprinted back to Trio’s tour bus. Dan appeared from the bunk area as soon as he slammed the door shut, immediately looking worried about his friend. “You good?”

“No, I’m not okay, Danny. I just met my soulmate.” Matt said. He took a seat on the couch and ran a hand through his hair. This tour was gonna suck, he realized.

“Oh,” Dan started. “Oh, shit dude. That’s a lot. But why are you upset? You’ve already said you didn’t care much about gender or looks, right?” 

“I don’t. But I’m not his soulmate.” Dan shot him a confused look. “He’s already got a soulmate, his band’s fuckin’ guitarist. Guess that explains why he didn’t react at all when I spoke to him.” Matt scoffed. 

Dan pulled Matt into a hug. He knew his friend was hurting, and was trying to act nonchalant about it. He felt Matt shift before a pair of arms snaked their way around his waist. Matt let out a small sigh, and then Dan noticed his shirt was getting wet. He rubbed Matt’s back, not caring that there was definitely gonna be eyeliner on his shirt later. 

“Matt, buddy, there’s still hope. Maybe he’s just dating Tom to pass the time?” Dan offered. He wasn’t sure how to handle the situation. He still saw in the world black and white, and he didn’t know any magic words that could cheer Matt up. He knew he wouldn’t convince Matt to just tell Mark that they were soulmates, something about him wanting his soulmate to _feel_ it when they realized.

Unfortunately, that attitude was only gonna cause Matt pain. 

When Matt never replied, Dan knew the party was over for them. He stood them up, and did his best to support his giant of a best friend as they walked to his bunk. After Matt was huddled under his blankets, he looked at Dan with teary eyes.

Dan felt his heart break at the sight. He never knew Matt could look so small.

“Thanks, Danny.” 

Dan didn’t respond, just slid into the cramped bunk beside Matt. Matt immediately cuddled up to Dan, sighing shakily as Dan tried to get comfortable. 

“You don’t have to thank me, Matt. You’re my brother, I’m always gonna have your back. If you want, I can kick his ass for you.” Dan spoke, only half joking. Matt let out a sad laugh and rested his head on Dan’s shoulder.

Dan knew he couldn’t fix Matt’s broken heart, or talk sense into Mark’s head. It was gonna suck for everyone, especially Matt, but he’d just have to wait it out. The very least Dan can do is be there to support Matt. 

As Dan pulled the curtain shut, he couldn’t help but think about how long this tour was gonna be.

*

The tour dragged on, and every day Matt grew more and more upset over the soulmate situation. He wasn’t as emotional about it as he initially was, but he still felt like shit over the entire thing. Mark, of course, was oblivious to Matt’s dampened spirit.

Finally, the tour ended, and everyone went their separate ways.

The first thing Matt did once he got back to Chicago was visit his parents. He may be a grown man, but he needed his mom’s advice.

Matt truly didn’t expect to be this torn up about his soulmate, given his nonchalant attitude towards it. But getting rejected hurt, as it turns out.

After catching up with his parents, casually leaving out the soulmate stuff, his mom pulled him aside to his old bedroom. She knew immediately that he was just putting up a front. 

“What’s going on, Matty?” 

Matt sat down on the bed, staring at the Misfits poster hanging on the wall.

“I met my soulmate.” 

Joan stared at him for a moment, confused as to why he was so upset. And then it clicked.

“Oh, sweetie. I’m sorry. What happened?” 

He recalled the story of how he met Mark at a party, describing the colors he saw as soon as Mark spoke to him, and how disappointed he was when he saw Mark kissing Tom.

“This isn’t gonna be what you want to hear, but it is possible that it’ll hit him later on. Not everyone knows right away, as much as it sucks.” Matt chewed on his lip. He knew it was possible that Mark would realize eventually, but he also knew it was just as likely that he wasn’t Mark’s soulmate. 

Matt wasn’t sure which option was worse.

“It doesn’t help that he’s in a relationship either, does it?”

Joan signed, rubbing her son’s back. “Not really, no. Sometimes that affects people realizing that they met their soulmate. Especially if it’s a long term relationship.” 

“Wonderful. So what do I do in the meantime? I’m fucking miserable, mom.” She scoffed, but didn’t scold him on his language.

“All you can do is wait. Try and date other people, or don’t, and just focus on friends and the band. I really think that things will turn around eventually, Matt.” With that, she stood up and walked out of the room. 

Matt fell back on his old bed, briefly wondering how he ever slept on it as a kid. As he stared at his ceiling, he thought about what his mom told him. He knew she was right, she always is, but he didn’t want to wait any longer. He almost wished he was one of the few people that didn’t realize it right away. At least then he wouldn’t be as sad. 

After a few minutes of sulking, he got up and took his parents out to dinner. It’s the least he could do for them.

As Matt was arriving home, he got a text from his friend Brendan. “Wanna get drunk?” 

Matt quickly sent back a yes and glanced at his apartment. It was a wreck. He still needed to unpack and he urgently needed to do laundry. But he figured one more day wouldn’t hurt anyone, and headed out. 

As soon as he walked into Brendan’s apartment, he was handed a beer. “You know me so well, BK.” 

*

The next morning, Matt woke up with a pounding headache in an unfamiliar bed. He cursed quietly as he sat up, glancing at the man beside him. 

He didn’t know what happened, other than them getting completely wasted. 

Brendan stirred beside him and slowly sat up.  
“Good morning, Skeebs.” 

“Fuck, dude, what happened?”

“Oh, we got drunk, and made hot, passionate love. And then we spooned. You were the little spoon, by the way.” Brendan deadpanned. Matt gaped at him for a moment, panicking slightly. He wanted to forget about Mark, but not at the expense of his friendship with Brendan. Besides, if Matt really wanted to have sex, he’d go to a bar and find someone. He didn’t cope well with the friends with benefits thing. “Dude, chill, we had a few beers, watched Jackass, and then you got emotional about some dude named Mark. I got us to bed somehow and then we passed out.” 

“Not that I wouldn’t have sex with you, but I’d like it to happen when we’re sober and you’re not depressed.” Brendan said. Matt rolled his eyes at him.

“I hate you sometimes.” 

“You’re a bad liar. Now tell Papa Kelly all about this douchebag that broke your heart.” Matt _really_ hated him sometimes.

*

Days turned into months and months into years, but Matt eventually got over Mark. 

Well, as much as one could ‘get over’ their soulmate. It stopped hurting as much, and after a while he felt like he could breathe normally again. Sometimes, he’d see one of Mark’s tweets and all of the progress he thought he had made flew out the window. 

But most days, he went about his business and didn’t catch himself thinking about Mark very often.

Although he did wish he didn’t see in color. It may be beautiful, but to Matt, it was just a constant source of pain. He would prefer seeing in black and white than being able to see color and knowing that he couldn’t be with his person.

Matt was living life as normally as he possibly could when he got a call from the very person that caused him so much misery. 

He had heard about Mark’s breakup with Tom, and the subsequent breakup of the band. Despite his hurt feelings, he had become good friends with Blink on that tour. As much as he wanted to hate Tom, he couldn’t find any reason to other than that he was Mark’s soulmate. 

As much as he had wanted to avoid Mark, he needed to support his friend in what he imagined to be a trying time. Judging off of his tweets, Mark was handling the breakup well, but Matt knew him well enough to know it was a front. 

He expected he’d be picking up the pieces of Mark’s broken heart, but actually, the man was just calling to invite him to lunch with him and Travis. Matt accepted the invitation. He put the pieces together as soon as Travis’ name fell from Mark’s lips. They were probably gonna ask him to join Blink. Which, if they did, he’d accept in a heartbeat. It was great opportunity.

So here he was, walking into a restaurant in LA to meet with Travis and his soulmate. He was both dreading and looking forward to seeing Mark again.

As Matt said hello and sat down, Mark jumped in his seat. No one noticed his sudden movement, or at least if they did, no one commented on it. Mark looked around the restaurant, taking in the colors on the walls before settling his gaze on Matt. He almost wanted to cry at how beautiful all of these new colors were, and he had to fight hard to not tear up when he looked into Matt’s eyes.

Matt was his fucking soulmate.

It clicked, all of a sudden. His sour mood during the tour all those years ago made sense. Matt had to watch him dick around with Tom the entire summer. Mark felt like the world’s biggest douchebag. He had known since he met Tom that they weren’t soulmates, but they loved each other, so it was something they both happily ignored for a while. Eventually, they both grew bitter that they weren’t with their soulmate. Things only got worse from there on out. Tom had done research and found that sometimes, you don’t see color when you meet your soulmate. Tom was so in love with Mark, that at the time, he desperately wanted to convince himself there was a reason behind their color blindness. Mark wondered if it was true, but he had secretly been hoping it wasn’t. He wanted to see the world in color.

And now that he saw color, and he fell in love with the color of Matt’s eyes and tattoos that adorned his skin. Mark knew this was exactly how Matt felt when they first met.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Mark wanted to hug Matt. He had unknowingly put Matt through hell for fifteen years. And Matt happily stayed friends with him, even though it had to suck. The man was a saint, truly.

Mark came back to reality and focused on the task at hand: getting Matt to join blink. It wasn’t hard to convince him. Matt beamed at him and Mark wondered how he could look that happy, given their situation. If the tables were turned and Mark had been pining for fifteen years, he’d probably be a bit more reluctant. 

Once they finished their lunch, Travis paid and said his goodbyes. The pair sat in silence for a while before Matt got up to leave. 

“Hey, wait. Can- can we hang out for a bit? I wanna show you some stuff, since you’re officially in Blink now.” 

Matt blinked, nodding his head before picking up the keys to his bike. “I’ll follow you to your place?”

Mark nodded, and the men left the restaurant. Mark wondered how he was gonna make this announcement to Matt. There really wasn’t a good way to do it at this point. 

It’s not like he could google, ‘how to tell your soulmate that after making him suffer for fifteen years that you finally realized he was your soulmate.’

Well, maybe he could. But there was no way to say it that would erase the years of pain he’d caused Matt. All because he was a late bloomer. As much as he’d like to pin it on Tom, he wouldn’t change that aspect of his life. Some part of him would probably always love Tom. 

While Mark was stressing over breaking the news, Matt was stressing about having to spend more time with Mark. He loved the guy, but being around him was exhausting. He just wanted to kiss Mark, tell him that hey, we’re soulmates, and start their life together. Lunch was hard enough, at this point Matt just wanted to go home, cry, and maybe get stoned.

They pulled into Mark’s driveway and walked into the house, immediately being greeted by Mark’s dog. Both men stopped to give the dog the attention he wanted. He wagged his tail happily and trodded to another part of the house once he was satisfied. 

“So, what’d you want to show me?” Matt asked. Mark picked up the change in tone. Matt seemed irritated, and suddenly Mark was regretting inviting Matt over. He should’ve just let Matt go home, and tried the next day. Matt stared at him, waiting for a response.

“Um, I just. I wanted to- Fuck, okay. Matt, how long have you known?” Mark already knew the answer to the question.

“What are you talking about?” 

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.” Mark said. Matt’s eyes widened, and he took a step back. 

“You see colors?” Matt was in disbelief. After almost two decades, Mark _finally_ saw color. He had realized that Matt was his soulmate. 

Mark nodded, looking up Matt’s lean frame. He noticed how his hands were shaking and reached out to hold them.

“At the restaurant. As soon as you sat down, it hit me. I wanted to cry as soon as I looked into your eyes.”

It didn’t go unnoticed by Mark that Matt was tearing up. He pulled Matt towards the couch and sat down. “I felt the same way, when we first met.” 

“Why the fuck didn’t you say anything?” Mark wasn’t angry, but he knew it came across that way.

“Well,” Matt started, already defensive. Mark sighed. “I waited all night for you to realize that you’d found your soulmate. And then you went and kissed Tom, and I thought that the reason you didn’t do anything was because he was your soulmate, not me.” 

“And then I was obviously upset, but I wasn’t gonna fuck up your relationship. It wouldn’t have been fair to either of you-”

“It wasn’t fair to you though.” Mark whispered, gripping Matt’s hand tightly.

“Let me finish? It wouldn’t have been fair, let alone right, to break you guys up. Believe me, I wanted to so badly. But I also wanted you to feel the way I did that night. By that, I mean I wanted you to feel the way you did at lunch earlier. Not be sad like I was. You deserved to come to that realization on your own terms, and to have that experience when it was time. It fucking sucked though, you took so goddamn long to figure it out, Hoppus.” 

“I’m sorry.” Mark was emotional at that point. 

“Don’t be. You figured it out and now we’re together. Make it up to me with kisses. Or sex, because it’s been a while and I really want to know what sleeping with my soulmate feels like.” Matt said, a small smirk on his face. He felt Mark shiver and watched his demeanor change. 

“You and I are gonna have a long, very exciting life together.” Mark paused, becoming sincere once more. “I love you, Matt.”

“Mark, you big idiot, I love you so much. Now kiss me before I lose my shit.” 


End file.
